Project revealing secrets of Nikwasi Mound

The Nikwasi Mound in North Carolina was once the site of a historic Cherokee village. Read more about the latest research on this mound below:

On Friday, June 12, 1761, Lt. Col. James Grant and his expedition, who were pushing through Cherokee forces along the Little Tennessee River, stopped in Nikwasi (what is now Franklin) and burned the people’s corn, two houses and a pow-wow house while the village’s women and children took cover in the surrounding woods.

On Friday, June 12, 2009, researchers with the Native American Cultural Sites Preservation Project stood at the base of the Nikwasi Mound in downtown Franklin and discussed ways to preserve bits of the past and to help today’s inhabitants develop an appreciation for a history that has survived.

The Native American Cultural Sites Preservation Project, headed by Bill Evans, has begun studying the Nikwasi Mound with the use of a ground penetrating radar unit. Although interesting things about the Nikwasi Mound may be discovered, the project’s larger goal is to use the Nikwasi Mound as a “model” mound to identify and catalogue other important or little known sites in the county.

Gary C. Daniels

Gary C. Daniels is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated television, video and multimedia writer and producer. He has a passion for history, archaeology, and astronomy. He is the founder and publisher of LostWorlds.org.